Sean’s POV, six days later

I woke up and felt a bit more energized than usual. I loved the sights and sounds of Shineheart, and the people were amazing, but part of me was itching to get back on the road. I went through a quick stretch and checked my status just to see where I was at.

Name: Sean O’Carrol

Age: 32

Titles:

Chosen of Ariana (hidden)

Blessed by Lokir (hidden)

Otherwordly traveler (hidden)

Summoned Hero (hidden)

Attributes:

STR – 6 (+4)

AGI – 12 (+4)

DEX – 7 (+5)

INT – 27 (+21)

WIS – 28 (+21)

CON – 15 (+3)

END – 12 (+3)

Health: 140/140

Mana: 4790/4790

Health regen: 0.090/min

Mana regen: 108.33/min

Spirit: 27/27

Spirit regen: 0.96/hour

Class: celestial sorcerer (6,750/10,000)

Available classes: priest (0), Advanced elementalist (7 subs), mender (300)

Secondary class: Advanced elementalist (VII) (7,290/35,000)

Unfinished classes: 4/10

Profession: Camp Cook (13)

Available professions: slave master

Secondary profession: Spearman (2)

Finished classes: True elementalist

Level: 25/25

Exp to next level: NA

I smiled as I thought back on the birthday party. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that present had maxed out my experience in gravity magic and boosted a bit of my celestial magic. The second tier elementalist class bonuses were nothing to sneeze at either, as I would get 500 mana every time I got one element to the halfway point. Maximizing an element was the better bonus though, as it was focused on mana regeneration. While the first tier bonuses focused on returning your mana pool within an hour of waiting, the second tier halved the wait time. Sprit was slowly climbing with my mending class practice with Lorando at the temple of Bruin, but it was slow going. I still was a long way from hitting a milestone in the class as well, at which point I would probably switch it out with camp cook. It didn’t have the agility bonuses, but would make expanding my pool easier. I also would likely earn the healer profession, but I would prefer to keep the spearman for the strength bonuses. Taking one last look around, I grabbed the go bag I had prepared the previous night and headed downstairs. I smiled at the cook as I grabbed a quick bowl of breakfast, not wanting to interrupt him. That little bit of efficiency was ever present around Bribis and his family. Early to breakfast? Grab a bowl of the stuff that is already prepared. Sure, it isn’t the greatest, but it’ll fill you up and you won’t have to wait or wake anyone up. After practically inhaling it, I headed out into the yard to see what was going on.

“Morning sleepy head.” Elendria chuckled as she stroked the jawline of one of the oddest creatures I had ever seen. The creature was nearly the size of a horse, but that’s where the similarities ended. The legs were similar to an ostrich, only it ran on four of them and they all ended in a clawed foot that was similar to a crocodile. The body was streamlined, and had a pair of arms in front that were shorter than the legs, but were much more heavily muscled. There were tufts of colored feathers on the elbows, but the rest was covered with iridescent scales that gleamed from light greens to deep purples. Each hand also had an oversized claw on the middle finger reminiscent of a velociraptor. While the neck was only half the length of an ostrich’s, it was also much more heavily muscled and thicker. The skull was elongated like a lizard, complete with rather sharp looking teeth. The end of the snout had an armored cover that might be the precursor to a beak, with a vicious hook. Forward facing eyes left no doubt that this thing hunted for its food. As I approached, it looked right at me and lifted the hidden crest of bright red feathers on top of its head, making it look like a cockatiel.

“What in the world is this thing?” I asked. Looking closer, the corner of its eyes also had some colored feathers, but these were much smaller.

“This is our ride, better known as an eagzard.”

“Cross between an eagle and a lizard?” I asked.

“Well, the name is. These guys never knew flight, but instead used their hollow bones to enhance their endurance. Thanks to Bribis and his family, we can move nearly three times the speed of the caravans and still not run these guys into the ground.”

“Nice.” I said. “That’ll shorten our trip quite nicely.” Walking closer, I stopped a few feet away from the one Elendria was petting. I slowly held my hand out, letting it come and get to know me in its own time. Elendria had stepped back, letting nature take its course. It was amusing to see such a large creature cock its head back and forth as it studied me, before slowly shuffling forward and sniffing at my hand. Ever so gently, I started scratching just under its chin, working my way back to the base of its jaw, and that was all it took to make friends for life. The eagzard gave an odd chirping noise, turned its head sideways and shoved it into my chest.

“Not bad, Sean. Not bad at all.” I turned my shoulders to see Carrigan and Bribis approaching, but I must have slowed my petting enough that the eagzard got annoyed. It reached out with its hands and started patting my elbows, giving me a few head bumps as well.

“Haha, alright little buddy.” I said, using both hands to scratch and getting a lovely coo in return. “Bribis, I thought we were leaving near dawn. Where’s all your stuff?”

“About that.” He said nervously, rubbing the back of his head with a hand. “I feel bad springin’ it on you like this, but I think this is where my part in the journey ends.”

“Say what?” I asked, concerned. I turned to look at him, and he continued.

“I’m not really cut out to be an adventurer. Sure, I have a few skills that can be handy in a fight, but I’d only be slowing you guys down.”

“I.” I started, slightly lost for words. “Well. No sense in forcing a friend into places he isn’t comfortable with.”

“Thanks for understanding.” He said with a sad smile. “Though don’t go thinking I won’t be giving you a gift. For all of you.” He said, looking at the other two. “Carrigan, you’ve gone on far more merchant journeys than any mage, and have pulled my ass out of the fire more times than I can count. Sean, Elendria. I’ve only known you a little bit, but even that was enough to make you feel like family. While I can’t go out with you, I can do this. Hold out your hand.” I did as he asked, and he grasped my forearm. “As caravan master, I name the three of you Friends of the Dawntrecker clan. Anything you need, simply find one of our stores and ask. You’ll get it at cost.” As he spoke, there was a flash of magic and a symbol appeared. It was a caravan wagon viewed from the side as the sun rose behind it.

“It’s not much, but-“ He started.

“It’s more than enough.” I said, pulling the surprised gnome into a hug. “Thanks for everything you’ve done. But without Carrigan to argue with, what are you going to spend your days doing?” I asked with a grin.

“Heh.” He said, wiping the corner of his eye. “Well, first I have to go and convince my niece that the horse golems from her birthday don’t normally fly, and that it was a special gift from Uncle Sean. Then I suppose I’ll have to see if we can get some mages trained up in gravity magic so she can have another flying adventure again.”

“Sorry about that.” I started, but he waved off my apology.

“Never apologize for bringing a smile to a little one’s face. Maybe I’ll convince her that she can learn magic and make her own horse fly someday. But on to more serious notes. We’ll be withdrawing most of our caravans, and preparing. The council is still going over the majority of those books you brought back, and we are taking this very seriously. We’ll be sending missives to the elves and humans, the demons have already been warned. Since I was actually in there, I’ll have to answer most of their questions.”

“This where we’re supposed to meet?” We all turned to see the two former slave demons walking towards us.

“Um, hello?” I said.

“Hey there Sean.” One waved, but grunted when the other elbowed him in the stomach.

“Ignore my brother, please. In case you forgot, I’m D’Vorak, and this is D’Vaen. Lokir has given us our marching orders, and says you’ll need us. While we both have scouting skills, I’m more of a ranger priest combination suited for the wilds while D’Vaen is a thief priest combination that’ll be useful in the cities.”

I looked at the rest of our group questioningly, but they all gave a noncommittal shrug. “Welcome aboard then.” I said with a grin. “I guess I’ll be cooking, and between the three of us here we have the magical threats covered. It’ll be nice to have some scouts, and I guess we’ll just have to do without someone armored up front.”

“We can make do.” Carrigan said. “Gareth would have joined us, but just found out his wife was pregnant.” He explained to the demons.

“Right, well. Daylight’s wasting, are we all ready to go?” Dvorak asked.

“I think so.” I said.

“You guys take care of yourselves.” Bribis said. “Don’t go getting into any troublesome situations.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll take it easy.” Carrigan said. “I’m sure by the time we get back, you’ll be more than ready for another adventure with us.”

“I doubt that.” Bribis chuckled. “But don’t you dare take that as permission to dawdle!”

“Right.” I said, pulling myself into the saddle. I only fumbled it a little bit, but still earned an annoyed hiss from my mount. “Go forth, kick the shadow’s ass, and hurry back.”

“Sounds like a plan. Ever ridden before?” Carrigan asked, pulling up alongside me.

“Not even a horse.” I answered.

“Ah, well. At least you won’t have to unlearn any bad habits.” He said, giving his mount a little click with his tongue. “See you next time Bribis!” He called over his shoulder, as our train left and headed down the mostly empty streets. Even living underground where there was no sunrise, people didn’t like getting up too early.

Walking pace was rather easy to maintain, especially since my mount seemed quite enamored with Elendria’s. Their gait was a bit unusual, as the front right leg would move in tandem with the rear left. This gave a bit of a sideways component to it. “So how bad am I going to be hurting after this?” I asked.

“Oh it shouldn’t be too bad. I knew you probably hadn’t ridden, and bought a bit of ointment from Bribis. We should have enough for three days. If you haven’t settled in by then, well. Tough luck.” Elendria said with a smile.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

I groaned as I stumbled out of the saddle, collapsing as my sore legs refused to support my weight. “By the gods that hurts.” I moaned.

“Giving up after a little pain Sean?” Carrigan joked. “We only went twice as fast as the caravan. If we are going to make it we are going to have to speed it up tomorrow.”

“If my legs weren’t hurting in places I didn’t know I had muscles, I would so kick your ass right about now.”

“HAHAHAHA!” One of the demons bellowed out in laughter. “Chin up kiddo! Tell ya what. I’ll even cook dinner tonight. You just rest up a bit.”

“Thanks.” I said, pulling myself to my feet with a bit of gravity magic.

“None of that.” Elendria said, lightly smacking me upside the head. “No magic, you have to stretch the muscles.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” I muttered, letting the magic drop. “What would it take for me to convince you to take care of my mount tonight?” I asked, voice tinged with desperation.

“Glad to see we don’t have to beat the first rule of mounted riding into you.” I think it was D’Vorak said as he led his mount around me. “The only time your mount doesn’t come first is if someone would die otherwise.”

“I’ll be glad to do it Sean.” Elendria said with a smile. “Just this once. But there is a far more important question you should be asking.”

“What’s that?” I asked, hobbling over to support myself with a nearby tree.

“What are you going to pay me to work that ointment into your sore muscles?” Everyone froze for a second.

“Oh hells no!” Carrigan cried. “I like ya Sean, but there ain’t no way I’m rubbing your thighs with ointment.”

“I’ll do it!” D’Vaen said, head perking up. “I haven’t gotten to massage a human before. This’ll be fun.”

“That’s all right D’Vaen.” I said. “I’ll let Elendria do it.”

“No worries man.” He said with a chuckle. “Not the first time someone picked the hot woman over me for something like that.”

“And for payment?” She asked, smiling.

“Could we discuss that in private?” I asked in return. Please let her agree to talking about it in private. I mentally begged.

“Sure. I’ll set up our tent, you just get the fire going.” Show over, we all set about to getting camp in order. Most of it was simple, as this was one of the caravan waystations. Wood was already stockpiled, and Carrigan had an easy time setting up his warding circle. Elendria and D’Vorak made quick work of the tents, while D’Vaen pulled out some provisions to cook our dinner.

“Ah, this’ll be great.” He said, dropping a few dried noodle balls into the soup pot that he had rapidly boiling. “Nothing beats a mouth full of noodles.”

“What all is that made of?” I asked curiously, studiously ignoring the innuendo and sly looks the demon scout was giving me.

“We keep a bit of dried meat in the middle with some spices, and dry the noodles in a ball around it. Perfect way to make a soup. Use one ball for every two people or so. Keeps for about a week, unless you get the noodles wet. You agree don’t you? That you have to immediately take care of a wet noodle?”

“Yeah. Uh. Sure.” I nodded, thoroughly uncomfortable.

“Relax man, I’m not going anyplace I’m not wanted.” He said with a chuckle. “I just like making people uncomfortable.”

“Sorry, it just sort of caught me off guard.” I said. “That and the pain, I can’t quite claim to be at my best here. If you don’t mind, are you?”

“I don’t play favorites.” He said in reply. “Men, women, either works for me.”

“I see. Would you mind a question?”

“Probably not, but if you cross a line I’ll let you know. Probably by sneaking into your room the next time we are at an inn and waking you up.”

“So long as you don’t put your cold feet on my back like the wife does, I think I can be ok with that.” I said with a smile. “I was just wondering if you find the same things attractive in both men and women?”

“That’s it? Oh hun, that’s an easy question. The answer is not really. I don’t mind a few muscles on my women, but prefer if they are more like you with the whole lithe look going on. For men, it kinda varies. Sometimes I want a big, hairy muscle man to just envelope me in his arms, sometimes not. It more depends on their personality.”

“Thanks.” I said. “It’s one of those things you just don’t quite get to ask. Can I take it part of your, exuberance, for teasing me is being a priest of Lokir?”

“Part of it yes. Though I just like throwing people off. You did better than most, only freezing for a bit before trying to gently dissuade me. Most people either threaten me with the beating of my life or completely ignore me.”

“See, I never understood those reactions.” I said, shaking my head a bit. “If it were a woman making advances, it’s a compliment they think you are attractive. But if it’s another man, it’s an insult?”

“I know!” He said, leaning over to stir the stew. “It doesn’t make sense. Maybe one day I’ll find my perfect harem, and never get bored.”

“Harem?” I asked, eyebrows raising. “Good luck with that. Most people have a hard enough time finding one person compatible. Trying to find more than one?” I just shook my head.

“I know, but a guy can dream, no?”

“Harem fantasy again?” D’Vorak asked, sitting down. “Oooh, noodle stew. Looks about done.”

“Yep.” D’Vaen agreed. “Go ahead and dish it up, we can have some of those trail biscuits before they turn into bricks.” The rest of the group had arrived, and we all set in to eating dinner. It was surprisingly good, reminding me a bit of ramen back home.

“We setting a watch tonight?” I asked near the end of dinner.

“Not tonight.” D’Vorak said. “Far too close to Shineheart for any big beasts or bandits. This area gets patrolled fairly frequently. Tomorrow though we should start.”

“Fair enough.” I replied, slurping up the last of the soup in my bowl. Sighing in contentment, I sat back for a moment. “By the way, I never really discussed where we are going. Someone want to fill me in?”

“Too trusting.” Carrigan snorted.

“By far.” Elendria agreed. “There’s a major dungeon a day’s travel into the monster lands just east of the Morningglow Mountains. We will head south and stop at Cliffsedge, a joint town ruled by drow and dwarves. After that, it’s off to Frontier. That’s the only town in the monster lands, and it is run by the Adventurer’s Guild. We can spend a few days there preparing, then we will upgrade your species. Now, hurry up and do the dishes, and we can get that ointment on you.”

“Sure thing.” I said. “If you guys would just hold out your bowls for a second.” They did, and a quick bit of water manipulation scoured them clean, including the pot. A flick of the wrist sent it off into the latrine, and I headed toward my tent.

“All right, pants off. We can discuss payment while I’m doing this.” She ordered. Embarrassed, I did as ordered. “Underclothes too.”

“Are you-“ I started, only to be interrupted.

“Nope. No arguments. Off.” I did as she said, trying to keep myself covered with a hand. “You’ll need to relax, or this is just going to hurt more. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before, and it isn’t like I’m doing this to get a rise out of you.”

“Sorry.” I said sheepishly. “It’s, I feel like this is pushing OOOOOAAAAHHHHH!” I moaned, partly in pain partly in pleasure. Elendria was obviously done with my talking, and had started massaging my inner leg down by the knee. One hand on top, one on the back side. She worked the ointment in with sure hands, using a firm pressure. It. Was. Amazing. I rolled my eyes back in pleasure, as she slowly worked her way higher.

“Aah!” I squirmed a bit as the back of her hand brushed against my sack, unable to prevent myself from getting aroused. “Sorry, it’s just that it feels-“

“Ssshhhhh.” She interrupted. “It happens. We can both just, ignore it.” She said, sneaking a glance.

“Yeah. Ignoring it is probably for the best.” I said as she started in on the other leg.

“Now, about my payment.” She said, concentrating again. “We are close to my people’s kingdom. I want us to grow stronger, and see if we can’t free my people.”

“Save your people? Not your brothers?” I asked. I really wanted to make those assholes suffer, but I needed to make sure Elendria was ok with it.

“If they have been possessed for this long, I doubt my brothers are still there. If I am going to be honest with myself, freeing their spirits might be the best we can do.” She said sadly.

“Alright.” I said. “If you and Carrigan think we are strong enough to pull it off, we can see what we can do. But we may have to spend a bit of time strengthening ourselves first. To be honest, I was dreading having to bring this topic up. We can’t have any factions taken over by shadows.”

“I know. Now lay back down. I’m almost done.” I complied, all the while trying to distract myself from just how close the soft skin of her hands were to my SEAN! ENOUGH! I mentally chastised myself. Cold showers, old nuns. Baseball. I needed some distractions. At least for a little while.